Uneasy Alliance
by Milliecake
Summary: Stranded alone and injured while attempting to recover a ZPM, Colonel Sheppard is forced to work with an old enemy in order to survive
1. Chapter 1

Title: Uneasy Alliance

Author: Milliecake

Rating: K

Spoilers: Spoilers up to mid Season 2, possible heavy spoilers for The Eye, The Storm and The Brotherhood

Summary: Stranded alone and injured while attempting to recover a ZPM, Colonel Sheppard is forced to work with an old enemy in order to survive

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the SG Atlantis team nor Kolya

A/N: I'm not very active in this particular fandom, so apologies if this is a retelling of another story.

OoOoO

Another world reaped by a ravenous and relentless enemy, thousands taken in a culling the like of which the galaxy had never seen, leaving smouldering ruins and empty dwellings of the people that had once thrived there.

_Oh Charin, I am glad that you found your peace before you discovered what had come to pass._ As always when she thought upon the woman she had known as a grandmother, Teyla Emmagan felt a wash of sorrow. It had been weeks since the elder's passing and the gap her presence once filled had not closed. But the doomed Itrians had been a people known to the Athosians, and though they had fared better under the Wraith than her own kind, richer in both technology and culture, Charin had spoken well of them.

Now they were gone as so many worlds before them and if any survived to flee to the mountains beyond, they had not yet returned to a city destroyed, a civilisation crushed under the unforgiving hunger of the Wraith.

Shouldering her weapon, Teyla followed in the wake of Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard and Dr Rodney McKay as they walked along the floor of the dry ravine. Behind her, Ronan Dex prowled restlessly, as if he could still sense the foul presence of the Wraith as they fed upon the dying world.

She wondered and not for the first time his thoughts upon seeing the remnants of the Wraith culling. Did he relive his own people's destruction, see them perish anew every time he witnessed this. Or did his impassive regard truly reflect his feelings, refusing to allow such tragedy to cloud his judgement.

Had he not once told her to clear her mind if such things distracted her. Or to use it to fuel her anger to aid in their common fight. Yet seeing the empty streets, the scattered belongings, the child's toy carelessly lost amidst the panic…neither was appropriate. Someone must grieve for those lost.

"All I'm saying is, it wouldn't hurt."

McKay's loud and irreverent voice took her from her musings and Teyla glanced ahead to where he walked with Sheppard, the laptop he was rarely caught without cradled protectively in his arms as they searched along the river bed.

"Rodney, Atlantis is the single most important find in this galaxy," Sheppard replied, with a world weary tint to his voice. "It's home away from home for some of the most brilliant minds from Earth…"

"Me being one of them…"

"So I can't see Dr Weir going for a Starbucks next to say, oh, the secret Ancient laboratories."

"I didn't say a Starbucks. Well ok I did, but you get my drift." McKay floundered, but only for a moment. "I'm not saying we recruit people whose previous line of work included the arduous task of asking customers if they want fries with their burger. But is it too much to ask for a decent cup of coffee in the morning for your 'brilliant minds'? The stuff the Daedalus ships in I wouldn't give to my cat."

Sheppard pulled a wry face at that, turned his attention back to their surroundings.

"I like coffee."

To their surprise it was Ronan who spoke, giving them all a small smile and a shrug as they turned to him.

"Yes well, why is that not surprising," McKay continued on, belligerent. "Zelenka told me he almost had to call security the day you found Atlantis was running low. I'm assuming it's not just me that doesn't want to be caught out in the field with a jittery, armed-to-the-teeth java junkie going cold turkey."

"Relax McKay," Sheppard cut in, easily, before the other man could respond. "I mean, here we are, out in the fresh air and sunshine, taking a stroll…"

"With a burning city behind us and who knows how many Wraith still hanging around. Oh and walking down a river bed that's protected from like two gazillion tonnes of water by a tiny, overstretched dam that might have been hit and weakened in the battle and burst at any moment."

For some, the banter between the two men might have seemed disrespectful and careless in the wake of what the Itrians had suffered, but Teyla knew it was simply their way. They did not dwell upon their losses, but focused instead on what they could do to fight the Wraith.

"Look, the sooner we find what we're looking for, the sooner we can leave," Sheppard was saying, with an easy smile that earned him a glare from the scientist. "How's that coming by the way?"

McKay glanced at the device in his hand, tapped on the buttons. "It's picking up something, but the reading is too faint. For all we know we could be tracking the Ancient equivalent of a battery, let alone a ZPM."

"But it _could _be a ZPM."

"It _could _be a battery."

"Charin once told me the Itrians possessed a powerful relic said to have once belonged to the Ancients," Teyla put in. "But I am curious, how is it that the sensors from the puddlejumper picked up this energy reading and yet the Wraith did not?"

"Because the energy output is minuscule, they wouldn't have given it a second glance," McKay told her, brusquely. "Normally we'd be looking at much higher readings for even a minimally charged ZPM, which suggests that if this is one it's either extremely run down or buried deep in the ground."

"Or shielded somehow," Sheppard added, then with a grin. "The Ancients, as we all know, liked to hide their really cool stuff."

"Well as hide and seek goes, this one has to be the most pointless." McKay shook the laptop, peering at the results.

"Hey watch it Rodney," Sheppard complained. "We don't got a whole lot of those things."

"Is it my fault it's decided now is a good time to malfunction?" McKay demanded in disgust. "Either that or something's interfering with the signal to our fabled ZPM."

At that Sheppard came to a halt and Teyla could see his wariness at McKay's absent words. "Let me check." Reaching into his jacket pocket, the Colonel took out their jumper's scanning device, the handheld technology coming instantly alive at his touch.

Teyla peered over Sheppard's shoulder, her hand tightening upon her weapon at what it revealed to them. Four dots blinking rhythmically where they stood, and yet some distance ahead and hidden over the next rise, were five more signals.

"Isn't that…?" she began, furrowing her brow, before hearing Sheppard's swift intake of breath.

"Take cover!" he bellowed, grabbing Rodney by one elbow and dragging the scientist down with him as he dived for the cover of rocks.

Teyla reacted on instinct, spinning around and down, gritting her teeth as her right awkwardly knee hit the rocky ground. With her back safely to a rock, she looked to see Ronan had followed suit behind them.

"What the hell was that!" she heard McKay complain loudly. "I think you broke my arm…"

"Rodney, shut up," Sheppard hissed. "You think I don't know an ambush when a Ancient hand device tells me?"

"Then those dots are…"

"_Very good Major Sheppard_."

The words echoed down to them from up high and Teyla frowned as she recalled that voice. Risking a quick glance towards John and Rodney, catching their equally disgusted and angry looks, she knew she was correct.

"Bad guys," McKay finished, slumping back against the rocks.

"Kolya," Sheppard ground out, as a curse.

OoOoO

Commander Acastus Kolya rose from behind his cover, sparing a grim glance at his team members, each trusted man armed and experienced. Their ambush had been sensed and yet he should have expected no less from his cunning opponent, the man had proven his metal and acuity in both previous confrontations, but this time Kolya was determined to win, his orders clear.

Retrieve the Itrians power source if the Wraith had not yet claimed it, what the Atlantians called a ZPM, and return it to the Genii homeworld, alongside any other useful assets.

He had not expected nor planned for Sheppard's presence, but luck was on his side. They had spotted the smaller team a mile back and so had time to plan an ambush, one that would succeed. Even now Kolya's sniper had moved into position and should any of the Major's team attempt to flee, they could easily be killed.

"You remember what I told you last time we met, Kolya?" Sheppard shouted furiously, from behind his tenuous cover.

"That you would kill me, Major," he called back, calmly. "I remember. But you are in no position to make threats. I have you and your entire team covered. You have no where to go."

Silence met that remark but Kolya was unsurprised. The Atlantians did not give up easily, that much he knew.

"Surrender and I will not have your team killed," he pressed.

"You have zero credibility with me after the stunts you've pulled," his enemy shouted back. "So if you don't mind, I think we'll sit tight and wait for our reinforcements to arrive and kick your ass all the way back to Genii."

Kolya frowned at the disrespectful words, but the Major's threat was empty. It was true that Sheppard's team could not flee without being slaughtered, yet neither could he nor his men approach their position without risking the same.

"Stand-off I believe," the one called McKay added, his smug if somewhat nervous voice echoing up from the ravine. "So go on, shoo, back to wherever it is you came from."

Kolya recalled him all too well or rather his incessant chatter. Annoyingly brilliant, it made him useful to the Genii as a prisoner and the Commander would see to his capture if possible.

"This time you are wrong Dr McKay," Kolya replied, coldly. "There is no stand-off. You cannot retreat or go forward and the walls of this ravine are too high for you to scale..."

It was time for the Atlantians to be pushed into either surrender or death, both would suit his purpose. He nodded to one of his men, who spoke quickly into his communicator, giving the signal to their comrades back at the city.

"On my homeworld we have a particularly persistent pest that digs deep burrows amidst our meadows and grazing lands and there is but one way to bring it to the surface."

"Oh I get it, you're gonna bore us into surrender."

"Defiant to the last, Major. But now I will show you the meaning in my words."

Distantly, there came the sound of an explosion and the knowledge that Atlantians' precious stolen C4 was being used against them gave Kolya great satisfaction.

"Do you hear that, Major Sheppard?" He knew his enemy had heard the sound, would recognise and understand what Kolya had done. "That was the dam that held back the Itrian's great reservoir, it is now gone, destroyed with your own C4. And now you will witness what the Genii do to flush pests from their burrows."

He almost smiled as, in the distance, a great wall of water arose and began to thunder towards his enemy.

END OF CHAPTER ONE


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Uneasy Alliance

Author: Milliecake

Rating: K

Spoilers: Spoilers up to mid Season 2, possible heavy spoilers for The Eye, The Storm and The Brotherhood

Summary: Stranded alone and injured while attempting to recover a ZPM, Colonel Sheppard is forced to work with an old enemy in order to survive

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the SG Universe

OoOoO

Shaking off the flakes of dirt and debris that had begun to crumble down from the ravine's walls, Ronan Dex felt the tiny pebbles and stones beneath his boots tremble and dance as the ominous rumbling drew closer.

"Oh my God he wouldn't," he heard McKay say, voice weak with fear.

"He already has," Sheppard replied, tightly. "Son of a bitch blew the dam…"

"So what do we do? We have to get out, get up out of this ravine! Oh God we have to surrender…" The scientist's face was deathly pale, clutching his technology to his chest as if it could somehow shield him from their approaching death.

"We're not quite there yet." The Colonel chanced a glance around the boulder they sheltered behind, scanning the enemy's position, seeking a weakness, a potential escape route.

"Well forgive me for being the only one who truly comprehends how the wall of water heading for us is going to squish us all like teeny tiny bugs!" McKay shouted back and Ronan could see how close he was to panicking.

When he had first agreed to join Sheppard's team, Ronan could not understand how a man he perceived as weak and ineffectual in a fight had been able to gain a place alongside such warriors. In the following weeks however, he had come to see McKay's inclusion less of a liability, his skills in certain areas useful. And the scientist could operate under pressure when required, although at this moment Ronan's grudgingly given respect for him was waning.

Preferring the impulsive heat of battle, the cold ruthlessness of the fight, Ronan Dex had survived the Wraith hunt on sheer instinct for over seven years. To him, McKay and his intellect, his over thinking, was as alien as the Atlantian's themselves.

"Colonel?" Teyla queried, though Ronan detected alarm in her voice.

McKay was not the only one who understood their situation, that they were trapped with an armed enemy ahead and a tide approaching from behind that would sweep them all away. But Ronan didn't need to analyse or plan or make long, prolonged speeches about their predicament, he would leave that to the others.

His thinking was simple, instinctual. They were trapped, they needed to escape, by whatever means available.

Slowly, he drew his long knife from its sheath, his eyes meeting Sheppard's. The Colonel looked at him in askance but Ronan didn't give him time to question, to delay. His position was further back, out of sight from the enemy ahead, the man they called Kolya. The ravine wall was high and sheer, but Ronan launched himself at it anyway, using the strength in his knife hand to drive the weapon into the sun-hardened rocks, dragging himself upwards.

"What…what is he doing?" he heard McKay question, then incredulously. "Is he _insane_?"

"Ronan be careful," Teyla called, in a hushed voice.

But Ronan pushed all their chatter from his mind, concentrating on finding the next handhold, the next foothold, driving his knife into the tiny crevices before hauling his weight upwards. Pausing he risked a glance below, satisfied at the height he had gained, allowing no time for concern that, should he fall, he would probably break his own back. It was not worth consideration for they had but moments before the tide would strike and kill them all anyway.

"Kolya!" Sheppard called out from below. "What guarantee do I have that you won't execute us once we surrender?"

_Good, keep him distracted_, Ronan thought, approvingly, grabbing a handful of grass to steady himself, ignoring the distant roar that grew louder every moment that passed. Gritting his teeth, he bit back any sounds from his own monumental effort lest it alert the enemy, and made one final lunge for the top.

"You have none, Major," the one called Kolya replied. "But make no mistake, you will die if you do not throw out your weapons now. You are merely delaying the inevitable."

Hearing the arrogance in his adversary's voice, Ronan bared his teeth once more, this time in a feral gesture of defiance, and threw an arm upwards, meeting only empty air. With a desperate heave, he dragged his heavy weight over the rim, pausing only a moment to draw a breath. He glanced up, towards the enemy's position and met the startled eyes of one of Kolya's men.

_Sniper_, Ronan realised, instinct throwing him instantly into a roll, his weapon hand dragging his gun from its holster even as the man swung his rifle round to bear.

If he had been quicker, or perhaps more accurate, the sniper might have succeeded in their split second race for survival. But he was not and Ronan fired off a quick blast, catching the man in the chest with the stunning energy, not even pausing to see its effects as he searched for his next target.

A tall man in a hat and long coat was standing a little apart from his men and his mouth opened to shout a warning, before he too was struck by the blaster, his body tumbling down the slope towards the ravine below.

"Sheppard go!" Ronan shouted, firing wildly now at the enemy position behind the rocks, not even attempting to hit his targets but instead keep them from firing upon his team.

The ravine wall was not as steep below where their enemy had set their trap and he saw McKay scrambling with an almost impressive speed up the loose rocks and boulders, closely followed by Teyla.

"Go go go!" Sheppard was shouting over the roar of the water as he brought up the rear, pausing to spray the enemy position with a burst of bullets as one attempted to return fire.

Risking a glance behind, Ronan could see the tide approaching and even he was impressed at the sheer ferocity of the churning water. A strangled, high pitched yell brought his attention back to his team's dire situation, to where it appeared McKay had slipped on the rocks and fell behind the others.

Breaking cover, Ronan rose and strode forward over the shaking earth, continuing to blast the rocks as Sheppard released his own weapon in order to grab hold of the flailing scientist and propel him upwards.

"Rodney, take my hand!" Teyla called, grabbing onto the other man.

Her strength, while impressive, was no match for McKay's ungainly weight and she was not yet high enough herself to safely evade the tide. Reaching down with one hand, keeping his gun trained on the enemy position, Ronan grabbed the warrior by the strap of her backpack and pulled, knowing she would have the presence of mind not to struggle against his efforts. Grunting, he pulled her towards safety, sensing by the weight on his arm that she had not let go of McKay either.

It was then the wall of water hit.

Flung to the ground as if an earthquake had struck, drenched in moments by the sheer volume of spray, Ronan clung tightly to the strap in his hand, feeling the powerful pull as either Teyla or McKay were caught by the tide's incredible might. His ears ached from the thunder of its passing, his arm straining against its attempt to drag his friends from his grasp.

Raising his head, blinking against the blinding spray, he pulled hard, dragging Teyla closer to him, seeing her eyes closed, face taught with effort as she strained to keep McKay with her. Of Sheppard there was no sign and Ronan felt a surge of fear. If the other man had been caught in the initial surge, if he had been swept away…

"Sheppard!" Ronan bellowed over the roar, not daring to release his hold on Teyla to wipe his stinging eyes. "Sheppard!"

Straining to listen, he heard Teyla shouting too. "John, do not let go!"

"He's slipping!" McKay sounded frantic. "I can't hold him!"

"Just a little longer!"

Feeling the pull of Teyla's weight lessen, sensing the tide had released its hold upon her, Ronan let go of her strap and surged forward, to the edge where McKay still clung below. The doctor had one hand looped in Teyla's belt, the other clutching Sheppard's jacket.

Submerged by the still raging torrent, Ronan could see only the Colonel's head, dark hair plastered to his scalp, his precarious hold on the rocks slipping as he fought against the tidal forces…

"No," Ronan said at the same moment his friend's grasp failed.

He heard Teyla's cry of alarm, of McKay's yell, even believed he heard the innocuous sound of material ripping as Sheppard's jacket tore under the strain.

Ronan lunged, reaching for the Colonel, but his hand only scraped empty air. One moment John Sheppard was there.

The next he was not.

END OF CHAPTER TWO


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Uneasy Alliance

Author: Milliecake

Rating: K

Spoilers: Spoilers up to mid Season 2, possible heavy spoilers for The Eye, The Storm and The Brotherhood

Summary: Stranded alone and injured while attempting to recover a ZPM, Colonel Sheppard is forced to work with an old enemy in order to survive

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the SG Universe

OoOoO

The pain was unpleasant to say the least, near crippling as if he'd gone ten rounds with an extremely pissed off Wraith, but at that moment it was oh so very good. It meant he was alive and if the feeling in his chilled fingers and toes was anything to go by, he'd survived with his limbs intact. Mostly.

A fit of uncontrollable coughing hit him and Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard heaved and gasped on the mucky bank, his throat parched and sore, the vice-like grip on his chest informing him he'd tried to breathe river water at some point on his little, inadvisable trip out to sea.

_Next time, bring boat. _He laid his head back down, the grit cool beneath his face and let the sun warm his soaked shirt and pants. _Just a few minutes more mom_, he solemnly promised in utter exhaustion, listening to the almost soothing sound of the river rushing by several feet below. Just enough time to rest and recuperate, warm up a little...imagine his hands around Kolya's neck, squeezing the bastard's life out of him.

Behind closed eyelids, he recalled McKay's face through the torrent of water, pale and terrified above as he clung to John, the look in his eyes as he realised he was about to lose his friend.

"You didn't lose me McKay," John mumbled into the sand, flopping awkwardly onto his back to let the sun finish its job. _Sunny side up_, he thought. Tiredly, he reached for his radio, hand falling limp back to his side as it scraped nothing but empty air. "Great."

Groaning in pain, he managed to make it to his elbows, then push all the way upright, resisting the urge to expel half the river's contents and more from his stomach.

"You know, this is all your fault," he told the rushing waters, breathing hard through his mouth, a hand pressed to his sore abdomen. But the river merely skipped lazily on its way to the open sea, nothing like the fierce break for freedom it had earlier displayed.

Sheppard's impassive and relaxed attitude soon faded as he took stock of both his physical state and his supplies and decided both looked pretty grim. All weapons but his sidearm and a spare clip had been lost in the water, along with his radio, backpack and scanning device. His thigh had sustained a heavy gash, but fortunately his meagre supply of field bandages had been kept high and dry in his inner pocket.

Dressing that wound, he decided against cataloguing his many bumps, bruises and scrapes, reasoning it would take too much time. At least a day by his calculation, in which time he hoped to be rescued and returned to Atlantis in time to enjoy the benefits of a strong dose of Beckett's wonderful sedatives, while laid up in his own bed watching the latest sports videos the Daedelus had shipped in.

Gingerly touching his forehead, frowning as his fingers came back a sticky red, he recalled banging his head at least once on his impromptu river swim, which might account for the loss of consciousness and current lack of focus.

All thoughts of yelling through the pre-recorded game where the Redskins bulldozed their way through the Cowboys vanished.

"Ah crap," he said, wearily. "Beckett's not gonna let me out of the Infirmary for a month." Chin in hand, he watched the river and its almost hypnotic splashes of light. "But at least you didn't kill me, so I guess I must be on a lucky roll."

A distant noise in the woods behind him alerted the Colonel and slowly, carefully John reached for his sidearm. Rolling to one side to take cover behind some dense shrubbery he stifled a groan of agony as wounds tore afresh and bruises protested the pressure.

Doubled over in fresh and sudden pain, an arm curled protectively around what he guessed were a couple of broken ribs, he took a firmer grip on the gun as the noises came again, louder now as someone blundered carelessly through the woods. Peering around his cover, John squinted at the dark, staggering figure, willing his blurry eyes to focus, wrenching back behind the bush before they spotted him.

It could be McKay or Teyla or Ronan, he knew, but his pummelled gut was telling him no. If it was a Wraith out on patrol he was already good as dead, injured and practically unarmed as he was, but the figure definitely felt human. Probably one of Kolya's soldiers. But no matter his circumstances, Sheppard knew he couldn't simply open fire, though his nerves were already frayed and jittery.

When the figure stopped a few feet away and bent over, wheezing and gasping, he took his chance. Creeping out from cover, he moved up behind the Genii and brought the butt of his sidearm down over the back of their head.

Just as he'd hoped, they dropped like a stone and Sheppard was quick to move in, keeping his gun trained as he visually checked for weapons. Seeing none, he carefully prodded the dead weight with his boot, before shoving harder and flipping the person over.

What was revealed caused him to suck in another breath, this time in fury, even as his finger tightened to a hair's breath on the trigger.

Laying unconscious at his feet was the man who had killed two of the Atlantian expedition in cold blood, had carved a hole in McKay's arm, had convinced Sheppard that Elizabeth was dead. A man who had survived one of Sheppard's bullets, only to return for a second attempt to disrupt the Colonel's life.

A moment passed, then another, and on the third hitched breath, John slowly eased his finger off the trigger. Kolya looked like he felt, bloodied and bedraggled, the man must have somehow been caught in the waters, caught in his own scheme to bring his enemies down.

"So you managed to survive the river too huh," Sheppard told the unconscious man, crouching down to strip his enemy of any useful items, any concealed weapons, before binding his hands. "Guess my lucky streak just ran out."

OoOoO

"_Colonel Sheppard, do you read_?"

Shivering in his wet field jacket, Rodney McKay stared at the back of his hands, still unable to comprehend how he'd lost Sheppard. For a man used to thinking his way in and out of dire situations, the only thought trapped inside his head at that moment was the memory of his best friend being swept away. Over and over, tormented by the possibilities of what he could have done, _should_ have done to save the man.

"_John if you can hear me, please answer."_

Teyla's efforts over the radio had yielded nothing but hissed static and no sign their leader was still alive, but Rodney knew the water could easily have destroyed Sheppard's radio, or he could be unconscious and unable to reply. Or out of radio range. There were too many scenarios to go over them all, he told himself, dismissive.

_Or he could just be dead_, an insidious voice inside whispered.

Resisting the urge to tell it to shut up, McKay wrapped his arms around himself. "How could I have let him go?" He didn't realise he'd spoken the words aloud until he heard his own voice, sounding lost and uncharacteristically bewildered.

The constant, angry pacing that had failed to distract him suddenly halted and Ronan strode over to where he sat. "Because you're weak," the warrior practically snarled, then stepped back as Teyla inserted herself between the two men.

"It was not his fault, Ronan," she told the other, sternly, reaching to clasp one of Rodney's arms in support.

Her hand was warm, comforting, and McKay squeezed back, suddenly not wanting her to let go.

"I believe he is in shock," Teyla continued, appeasing the warrior. "As are we. But we must focus on finding John before nightfall. It will be more difficult to track him during the darkness."

"You think he's alive?" Ronan mocked, shaking his head as he walked away to resume his pacing.

Feeling as if he'd been slapped, a sudden rage caught fire in Rodney's chest and he jumped to his feet. "If there's the slightest chance a person could survive that then John Sheppard would," he snapped at the warrior. "That man has cheated death more times than I can count and I have a degree in mathematics so believe me when I say I can count!"

He finished his brief yet succinct tirade with a glower at the other man, who didn't seem impressed at all. But McKay could tell he'd had an affect, he was certain of it. People rarely ignored him when he spoke and if they did, more fool them.

"We should start by searching along the river if John is..." Teyla began, then hesitated, choosing her words, "to be found."

"One of us should return to the jumper," Rodney added, glad they were planning, thinking.

Strategies he could deal with, could work with, gave him something useful to focus on other than the incessant recollection of a friend's unaccusing features as he was swept away because Rodney couldn't hold on tight enough...

"We...we should alert Atlantis," the scientist stuttered, slightly, attempting to recover his focus as he lost his train of thought. "They can send more people to look, more jumpers, more ground to cover etcetera..." He trailed off, glancing at Teyla for support.

"That will take time," she replied. "In the meanwhile, it would be better if Ronan and I searched on foot. We might see something on the ground the jumpers may miss in the air."

"Ok, that...that sounds good," Rodney agreed. "So, you want me to head back to the jumper then, alone?"

"That might be for the best," she said, smoothly. "We are far better trackers and can move more swiftly..."

"Without me," he finished for her, feeling a little crestfallen. He knew he wasn't a hunter or warrior of any kind, hell he hated the outdoors. But he wanted to help look for John, to make up for letting go.

"Rodney," Teyla said, more quietly. "This was not your fault. Do not take the guilt of others for this tragedy upon yourself."

He nodded. "They should be the ones to pay huh," he said, with a small smile and a shrug, wondering who he was trying to convince.

"And they will." It was Ronan who replied, his body tense, his eyes narrowed on something behind Rodney and Teyla.

Slowly, he unsheathed his big knife and McKay's eyes widened as the warrior strode purposefully forward, only halting when Teyla quickly placed a hand on his arm.

"Dr Weir believes we have a truce with these people," she said to the other, in a hushed voice, sparing Rodney a brief and uneasy glance. "We do not need anymore bloodshed."

Ronan didn't spare her a look but continued to stare hard at something hidden in the trees, something Rodney couldn't see. "Maybe not, but as McKay said, someone needs to pay," came his growling reply.

And then Ronan Dex was gone, loping through the trees after whatever it was he'd caught wind of.

"What...where's he going?" McKay asked, confused, as Teyla hurriedly grabbed his hand and ushered him deeper into the woods, away from Ronan.

"He...must see to your security if you are to return to the jumper," Teyla replied, hesitatingly.

Rodney planted his feet, pulling her to a halt and raised his eyebrow. "I may be in shock and soaking wet and developing a potentially lethal case of pneumonia even as we speak by the way, but I'm not stupid. There were Genii out there, the ones who ambushed us."

It wasn't a question and yet he knew before she spoke that she would try to evade it nonetheless. He folded his arms and stared at her in silent challenge.

For a moment, she appeared to search for words, then gathered herself and unflinchingly met his stare, reminding McKay why this woman was not only a warrior but a leader of her people. A woman made of stronger stuff than he could ever hope for.

"Please Rodney," she said at last. "Do not tell Dr Weir or the others. They would not understand. It is not...their way."

"No, it isn't," Rodney replied, shortly. "We don't go hunting down other humans to slaughter, especially ones that would no doubt surrender to us given the proper persuasion. I saw Kolya go down and without him they're like cattle."

And then his mind, his brilliant, speed of light brain alighted on that one memory, that one promise he had made after the Dorandan debacle which had resulted in two thirds of a solar system being wiped out. The promise to regain John Sheppard's trust.

And if his best friend were truly dead, then that debt would never be repaid. "And you know what?"

Teyla slowly shook her head.

"I don't care," he finished. "Kill them."

END OF CHAPTER THREE


End file.
